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Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (November 30):
Question :
It has been reported that an academy of agricultural sciences in the Mainland has used hypericin extracted from Chinese herbs to cure chickens which have been artificially infected with H5N1 avian influenza virus and is conducting researches on the possibility of using this medicine on human beings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has approached the relevant Mainland organisations for the details of the above researches, and whether it has collaborated with Mainland organisations in conducting researches on the use of Chinese medicines to treat human beings infected with avian influenza;
(b) whether it has conducted researches on the concurrent use of Chinese and Western medicines to treat human beings infected with avian influenza; if so, of the progress of the researches; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that avian influenza viruses can quickly develop resistance to Western medicines through gene mutations, whether it has studied if Chinese medicines have longer curative effect on this disease?
Reply :
Madam President,
Hypericin is an extract from St John's wort (Hypericum Perforatum) of the Clusiaceae family of plants. While this substance can be used as an anti-depressant, it is known to induce considerable drug-drug interactions upon usage with Western medicines. According to the Chinese medicine pharmacopoeia "Chinese Bencao", St John's wort is found to have anti-viral effects on chicken embryos infected with influenza virus and against tobacco mosaic virus. However, the herb is not a commonly used Chinese drug and is not in use at any of the Chinese Medicine Clinics managed by the Hospital Authority (HA).
(a) The HA is aware of a newspaper report that Lanzhou Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine was testing a herbal drug "Hypercirin" developed by the Institute on live chicken infected with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. The HA has already commissioned an expert to get in touch with the relevant research institutions on the Mainland, with a view to obtaining the scientific report of the test and other relevant information.
As a matter of fact, the HA has been paying close attention to research developments in the use of Chinese herbal drugs for Avian Influenza on the Mainland. The HA is maintaining close communication with Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the exchange of views on treatment plans and protocols for Avian Influenza.
(b) Apart from attending a seminar organised by the Department of Health on the common methods of prevention and treatment of Influenza with Chinese medicine in March and April 2005, the HA has already invited the professors at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to provide expert advice on the subject. The HA will make reference to the latest research literature on the treatment of Influenza with Chinese medicine, with a view to exploring further the feasibility of integrating the use of Chinese and Western medicine for the treatment of Avian Influenza. In this connection, the HA has already established a Working Group on the Research of Prevention and Treatment of Avian Influenza, which comprises members of Chinese and Western medical practitioners. The main responsibility of the Working Group is to discuss the relevant dialectical theories, treatment stages and treatment protocol, and to explore the feasibility of conducting relevant research on drug-herb interaction.
(c) Since there are yet to be any case examples of treating Avian Influenza with Chinese medicine in Hong Kong, the HA is not able to research into the outcome and lasting effects of such treatment.
Ends/Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:45
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